Think of the Internet as a vast city, and your computer as a vehicle to take you there.
Like any city, there are good places and bad places. There is beauty, and there is filth, pleasure and danger, sanctity and sin.
Knowing that, do you stay home?
Some families fear the Internet. They think that if they link their home to the information superhighway, their children will zoom away to Sodom and Gomorrah.
These same folks would have no problem visiting Paris or Hong Kong or New York or San Francisco, cities that have their share of seedy districts. The secret is to avoid the smut.
In many homes, this is Santa's big dilemma.
And the problem isn't just dirty pictures. There also are pages devoted to Satanism, drug use, violence and bigotry - all of humanity's vices and evils. And they're easy to find using any of the Web's search engines.
Kids shouldn't be sheltered from the Internet because it has an unsavory side. Parents just need to keep an eye on Junior. There are two ways to accomplish this: One involves supervision; the other, software to help with supervision.
'Filter software' available
There are several versions of ''filter software'' available. The programs operate like a virus detector, blocking Web sites and news groups that are listed in a file of ''banned'' sites.
One of the best programs is Cyber Patrol from Microsystems Software. Available for both PCs and Macs, this program installs as part of the operating system and controls not only Web wanderings but when and how often little Johnny can use the computer.
Cyber Patrol allows the ''administrator'' - mom or dad - to create up to nine accounts and give different access levels to each account. So the kids might be limited to Disney.com while adults can surf uninhibited. Each account is also given a maximum number of Internet hours a day, and those hours can even be scheduled. It can even block the use of selected software on the hard drive.
''For a family with several kids who use the computer, this helps the parent resolve conflicts over who gets to use what when,'' said Susan Getgood, marketing director for Microsystems.
The software automatically downloads the ''banned sites'' list weekly from the Cyber Patrol Web site. The sites are organized by category, and parents can modify the list.
What about new sites that appear between updates of the list? Cyber Patrol can also block Web addresses based on a keyword list (you might ban sites with the word ''sex'' in the address). But the software does not read the ''meta'' information that many sites include on their home pages.
Cyber Patrol also is difficult to bypass or ''hack'' and works on Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Explorer.
Booming business
Internet filtering is becoming big business. While parents are worried about indecent material in the home, corporations are concerned about workers wasting time surfing at their desks. Microsystems has adapted Cyber Patrol for corporate and educational users. And America Online uses Cyber Patrol technology as part of its Parental Control software.
A seven-day trial version of Cyber Patrol can be downloaded from http://www.cyberpatrol.com, and registration is $29.95, which includes a three-month subscription to the CyberNOT Block List. A six-month subscription to the block list is $19.95; $29.95 for a year.
Other filter software worth a mention:
NetNanny (http://www.netnanny.com) blocks inappropriate sites, monitors time online, controls applications and blocks selected words in e-mail and chat sessions. Windows only, $39.95; demo version available at Web site.
CyberSitter (http://www.solidoak.com) blocks Web sites, news groups and chat areas. The company claims its ''phrase filter'' does a better job of blocking objectionable content. Windows only, $39.95; demo version available at Web site.
Surfwatch (http://www.surfwatch.com) blocks Web sites, newsgroups and chat areas based on a list updated monthly. Windows and Mac, $19.95.
E-mail Charles Brewer with questions, comments and suggestions at cbrewer@enquirer.com